Piscaturi – Sicilian fisherman Story

“Piscaturi” – Sicilian fishermen It is not just a book, it’s a journey into the fascinating and extremely visual life of fishermen in sicily … Ready to feel seasickness?

“Without the sea I cannot live” Damiano Patania , Captain

July 3, 2013 –

We are fishing tuna and swordfish, it’s something like 4am and we haven’t really slept for the past 20 hours. An 18 mile filament of hooks and mackerel baits have been tossed into the deep sea practicing an ancient technique called “conzo”. Now we wait. It is impossible to predict which particular fish will be lured into the trap and how it will fight for its freedom. Yesterday we caught a mighty tuna fish which stained the whole deck in dense blood, and even the lens of my camera. It didn’t want to give up. The wooden planks of the deck shivered and cracked under the powerful strokes of the tuna’s tail. The fish would not stop shaking and struggling till its heart was taken out and even then, that small beating muscle kept pulsing frantically as if it could hold on forever. It’s hard to imagine such a life when we buy a tinned tuna or we get half a kilo of mackerel from our local supermarket …